Sheet registering mechanism



June 16, 1953 A A. J. ALBRECHT 2,642,233

' SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Filed July 1, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I.

IN VEN TOR. ALEXANDER J. ALBRECHT ATTORNEYS June 16, 1953 v A. J. ALBRECHT 2,642,283

' SHEET REGISTEREIZNG MECHANISM FiledvJuly 1, 1949 I 4 s sheets-sheet 2 ATTORNEYS A. J. ALBRECHT SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Jline 16, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 1, 1949 INVENTOR. ALEXANDER J. ALBRECHT 'BY ,AITORNEYS v June 16, 1953 A. J. ALBRECHT 2,642,283

I SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 1, 1949 FIG. 6.

' INVENTOR.

ALEXANDER J. ALBRECHT BY 63 e3 62 I l ATTORNEYS June 16, 1953 I A. J. ALBRECHT SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM a Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 1, 1949 I llllll IN VEN TOR.

ALEXANDER J. ALBRECHT TTORNEYS J 1953 A. J. ALBRECHT 2,642,233

SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM FiledJuly l, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 1 FIG. 9. 60 g 6.; :LEX NDER RECH Patented June 16, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT orr lcs Alexamler'Jt-Albrecht, West New York, N. J. as-

signor to .ml loe & Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application-July l, 1949, Serial No. 102,682

12 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvementsin sheet registering, mechanism.

It is an object of theihvention to provide an improved mechanism for rejecting sheets that are not properly registered.

Another'object of the :invention. is to provide an improved detecting mechanism for-determining whether a'sheet is registered'properlyiornot.

With the foregoing and still other objects which willappear in the following full description. in

mind,'the invention consists in the combinations and arrangementsof .parts and details :of construction which will nowfirlst bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawingt'and will then be more i particularly pointed. outin the appended claims.

In .the drawings V Figure '1 is a schematic plan view of a registering cylinder embodyingthe inventioninapref-erred form of embodiment;

Figures 2, 3, 5, 6, .7and8 'are sections on the respective lines 2, 3, 5, 6, l and def Figure 1,

various parts appearing in certain of'the views shell B (not shown in Figure l, but shown in other figures) and which also support the operating elements hereinafter described, being shown in full lines. The disks 2, 3, 4 and-"5, are fixed to thecylinder shaft 1 which is carried in suitable bearings in'the end housings 8 and 9.

Details of construction not illustrated or described in detail in the present application are shown in Huck Patent No. 2,231,914, the present disclosure being confined to the novel elements forming-the present invention and so much'of the known structure as is necessary for a full understandingthereof.

As in the Huck'patent referred to, sprocket wheels and II are mounted on thecylinder shaft 1 for carrying a pair of sprocket chain conveyors for the sheets, which serve toposition the gripper bars inthe cylinder, for taking :sheets 7. as theyare presented bya. sheet feeding mechanism. The gripper mechanism is operated by means of a stationary cam l2 in a housing 9, upon which rides a cam roller on an arm l3 attached to a gripper operating shaft l4 journaled in the spiders 2, 3, 4 and 5. A stationary sun gear l5 (Figures 1 and 2) in a housing 8 meshes with a planet gear l6 fixed to a cam shaft H, journaled in the spiders 2, 3' and 4. Gears [5 and It have a 1 to 1 ratio so that the shaft l'l makes two rotations with respect to stationary elements or one rotation with respect to the cylinder I, for each rotation of the latter.

The invention is shown as applied to a sheet registering device cooperating with gripper bars in tubular form, and having separably operable gripper elements actuated byla common actuating member, which is incorporated in theregistering cylinder according to the disclosure of copending Albrecht application Serial No. 737,236 filed March 26, 1947. As in that application, the gripper bar 28 (Figures 2 and 4) is positioned within a recess in the cylinder by means of supporting rollers 2! (Figure 3), mounted on the disks or spiders 2, 3, 4 and 5. The gripper bar has a series of grippers spaced. along it, each of which comprises a fixed lower jaw 22 (Figures 2 and 11), and a movable upper jaw 23 pivotally mounted at 24 and operated by means of a spring rod 25. Normally the'springs will hold the jaws 22 and 23 closed for gripping a sheet of paper but the jaws are opened for receiving a sheet by means of a number of arms 26 fastened on the gripper operatingshaft 14 previously referred to.

, Shaft I4 is oscillated by stationary cam i2 and bya cover strip-29 (Figure 3) and communicat- 7 mg -through suction holesrsz with a cylinder surface: Suction is applied to the passage .3-l for holdinga sheet down onthe-surface-ofa cylinder under-'control of-a timing valve BS-(Figure 1) as hereinafter described. The supportbar' 3E! "has'a number'of-projections (Figures 6 and #10), to

which are fastened: plates 36 as by means of screws 3 'I-.- An adjustable-register bar' 40 his fastened to the membertfi by means ofa number of screws 40' (Figure 4) in. transversely elongated elongatedslots: These'screwsiand slots'tpermit the distortionor bowing 0f the bar' riliwith'refer- .en'cetoan axial element of thetcylinder in'the known manner and. as :more fully described in no- 3 pending Albrecht application Serial No. 102,681 filed July 1, 1949 for Front Stop Assembly. A front register stop member 45 (Figures 3 and 4) is carried by a series of arms 56 and arranged in alternation on a shaft 41 journaled in the disks or spiders 2, etc., and extending the length of the cylinder. The arms 46 (Figure 2) are rotatable on the shaft 41 and secured to the stop member 45, while the arms 4-8 (Figure '7) are secured to the shaft 4? and bear against the member 45 except during the final movement of the stop member in registering a sheet. This front stop member 65 is successively positioned for stopping the leading edge of a sheet, then moved clockwise forcing the sheet edge backward to buckle it and position the sheet edge in proper register, and then advanced clear of the sheet when it is about to be taken by the grippers, as explained more fully hereinafter. Springs 48 acting between member 45 and plates 36 previously referred to,

' urge the member 45 toward the bar and the arms 4', and hence tend to cause clockwise rotation of shaft t? (Figure 3). The member has sufficient flexibility to bow and conform to the adjustment of the register bar 4 3 when springs 48 are permitted to press it thereagainst. One of the arms 46' is formed with a member ta (Figures 3 and 10), having a cam follower roller 51 which is biased toward a cam 52 on the cam shaft ing edge being buckled, and, as the high section a of the cam comes under the roller, the stop member 45 will be advanced (counterclockwise in the figures) so as to clear it out of the way of the sheet as it is being taken away by the grippers.

This cycle of movements is similar to that described fully in the copending Albrecht application for improvements in Front Stop Assembly hereinbefore mentioned.

A suction line 33 leads from the passage 3! through the cylinder shaft to a valve 53 (Figure i), this valve, which in itself is of known type,

' serves to apply suction to the underside of the (sheet immediately back of its leading edge just prior to and during its buckling, so as to prevent bodily movement of the sheet during the buckling at its front edge.

, The detector mechanism (Figures 5 and 5-A) is in general similar to that disclosed in the herein mentioned Front Stop Assembly application.

- On machines that are used for printing sheets,

the dimension of which vary over a wide range, it is customary to provide sufiicient detectors so that two may be selected which are so spaced that each engages the size of sheet to be printed, a

short distance in from a side edge, and the other detectors are locked out of action. Each detector comprises a finger which is pivoted at El in a frame 62 which in turn is pivoted at 62' in a frame 63 attached to the bar 30. Each frame 62 is urged clockwise about its pivot 62 by a spring 61 and carries a pin 4iv extending through an aperture in the member 45, as indicated, and engaging the bar 40. Spring 61, forcing pin 4| against bar 40, thus maintains a fixed relation between the detector finger mounting and the 4 register bar 40. The detector fingers 60 are adlustably stopped from clockwise rotation by screws 63 and are resiliently held against the screw by springs 64.

A detector shaft 65 journaled in the spiders 2, etc. carries blocks 66 adapted to engage the lower ends of the detector fingers 60 and is urged in the clockwise direction by a spring H (Figure '7), acting on an arm 12 secured to the shaft 55. A cam follower roller 68 (Figure 5) carried by an arm 69 fixed to the shaft 65, rides on a cam 10 carried by the cam shaft 11, so that the cam I9 and detector fingers 60 may'control the movement of the detector shaft 65.

A detector finger in the position of Figure 5 will prevent movement of a block 66 and hence prevent rotation of detector shaft 65 when the low portion of the cam 10 is presented to the roller 68. This will cause rejection of the sheet.

The sheet ejecting mechanism comprises a plurality of ejector rods or plungers (Figure 2) spaced along the cylinder and passing through apertures in member 40, each of these ejector rods 80 being connected through a link Bl to an arm 82 which is fixed to an ejector shaft 83. Shaft 83 is biased counterclockwise by a spring 84 (Figure 8). The movement of shaft 83 is controlled by means of a gear 85 (Figure 6) fixed to shaft 83 and meshing with a gear sector 86 loose on the shaft 47. The gear sector 86 is extended to form a cam follower arm 81 carrying a roller 88 which rides upon cam 90 mounted on the shaft 17. The spring 84 thus rotates shaft 83 counterclockwise (and shaft 41' clockwise) as the roller 88 passes to the low of the cam 90. Such rotation will push the rods 80 radially outward (Figure 11) thus pushing the sheet upward and away from the jaws 23 of the grippers, and preventing the grippers from taking the sheet. When a sheet is rejected, the rods 80 are retracted as soon as the high of cam 90 again comes under the roller 88, restoring the parts to the position of Figure 6.

In normal operation each sheet is presented with sufiicient accuracy so that its leading edge engages both detector fingers 60, swinging them to the position shown in Figure 9, out of alignment with the block 66, and hence permitting clockwise movement of the detector shaft 65 as the roller 68 moves to the low portion of the cam 70 (Figure 9), and a toe 9| (Figure 6) carried on an arm 92 swings upward into alignment with an abutment 93 carried by the gear sector as shown in Figure 9. Any motion of the shaft 83 and the rods 80 to eject the sheet is thus prevented unless one of the detector fingers is not engaged by the sheet. Following the detecting action, when the cam 52 presents its low portion to the roller 5i (Figure 10), the shaft 41 with its arms 46 and 46' have moved the stop member 45 backward and against the register bar 40, buckling the sheet and presenting either a perfectly straight or slightly curved sheet edge to the grippers, depending upon the adjustment of the register bar 40. The grippers, which are operated as disclosed in application Serial Number 737,236 then close on the sheet and take it away from the registering cylinder.

The cycle of movement is illustrated in Figures 9, 10 and 11. Figure 9 represents the position of the parts at the time when the sheet S has been brought up against the stop 45, thus clearing the detector fingers 66 out of the way of the blocks 56, and the roller 68 being on the low part of cam 70, the detector shaft is rotated, bringing toe 9| into position to block movement of the abutment f 5 :93;and thus prevent rejection of the sheet. Fig- 'xure. lflillustrate's the positionof the parts imme- .rdiately thereafter, the roller 5| being on thelow .tzpart. of.. the cam 52 the front stop'45 being moved back against the register bar 40 and having -'1 buckled .the leading edge of the sheet S as indi- :cated. :The suction through holes 32 'wouldbe' t.applied.just"prior to this time. The grippers next .take the. sheet while it is buckled and just prior L130 the time when the gripper'bar leaves the'cylin- .der; valve 53twill cut off the suction; releasing the sheet.

i ;:..If, however,.aidetectorfinger 60 is not moved :bya sheet, and remains :in thezpositionrof. Figure 5, the shaft 65 cannot rotatezandis held in'..the same position after the low part of the cam 10 is under the roller 68. The roller 88 is then on the low cam-90 (Figure-11'), and the ejector rodstfi will be"protruded;."preventing the grippers from taking the sheet. This actionoccurs atthe time the bar 45is moving to buckle the sheet, but instead the sheet is lifted free of thefront stop 45 and'above the grippers. When thesuction" through holes 32 .is cut off by the op'erationof valve 53 the sheet, if rejected,

will drop oif and fall clear of the cylinder.

An arm Si l (Figure 2), secured to the shaft 83, is connected by means of a link 95 to a collar 96 rotatable on the gripper operating shaft M and carries a member 91 which engages a trip setting mechanism (not shown) that trips off the prin ing cylinders on the approach of a gripper bar from which a sheet has been rejected.

The gripper operating shaft controlled as before mentioned by stationary cam 12 is biased to force the cam follower roller [3 against this cam by means of a spring. I as indicated in Figure '7.

The manner in which the various elements above described are interrelated and accommodated to each other is indicated in the sectional views already discussed and in' Figure 4, the members 40 and 45 being formed to interfit as indicated and the latter having recessesor shaft in one direction of rotation by means of the external gearing l and it, it Will be apparent that the operation of all elements with respect to one another and with respect to the rotation of the cylinder itself is synchronized and correlated very closely and in a very simple manner by merely attaching thev cams to the cam shaft at proper angles to one another and to the planetary gearing.

It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the claims rather than to the foregoing description for an indication of the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: c

1. In a sheet handling mechanism, having a sheet support, means for registering a sheet thereon, and grippers for taking the registered sheet,

the combination with thesheetsupport of de' tector mechanism for detecting an improperly registered sheet and sheet rejecting mechanism controlled thereby" and comprising; a; plurality of sheet lifting elements "spaced across the sheet support adjacent the'grippers but spaced there- 1 from and operable to lift the edge of an improperly registered sheet up off the support so as to prevent its being taken by the grippers.-

In'a' sheet handling mechanism, having a sheet "support, means for registering a sheet thereon,--andgrippers-for taking the registered sheet, the combination-with the sheet support of detector mechanism for detecting an improperly registered-' -s'heet, a plurality of sheet rejecting F plungers'adjacent the' grippers but spaced therefrom an'dmovable in the sheetsupport to lift the edge of an'imp-roperly registered sheet up off the -supportso as'to prevent its being taken by the grippers, and actuating mechanism controlled 1 by the detector mechanism for operating the plungers. In a sheet registering cylinder having means for advancing a sheet circumferentially to register itagainst a front stop, and in combination, a front stop, detector mechanism for detecting improperly registered sheets, cam mechanism operable-by-the rotation of the cylinder for operatingasheet gripper to' take a sheet, a sheet refor moving a sheet circumferentially of the cylinder against a front stop for registering the same, a front stop comprising a bendable front stop bar extending across the cylinder and comprising front stop means extending beyond the surface thereof, a bendably adjustable register bar extending across the cylinder adjacent the front stop bar in position to lie under a sheet engaged thereagainst, and means for urging the front stop bar yieldably against the register bar so as to bend the front stop bar to conform to the register bar for registering the leading edge of a sheet.

6. A registering cylinder according to claim 5, having also a detecting mechanism comprising a plurality of frames carrying pivotally mounted detector fingers and yieldably urged against the register bar in a position to engage a sheet which is against the front stop means, the front stop bar having recesses accommodating the said fingers and permitting movement thereof past the front stop means, and the register bar having projections also accommodated by the said recesses for engagement by the fingers.

7. In asheet registering cylinder having meansfor advancing a sheet circumferentially to registe-r it against a front stop, and in combination, front stop means, a bendably adjustable register bar, means for urging the front stop means yieldably against the register bar to conform to the bending thereof for registering the leading edge of a sheet, and detector mechanism comprising a plurality of movable frames carrying pivotally 8. A sheet registering cylinder according to claim '7, in which the frames are pivotally mounted and urged against the register bar by springs.

9. In a sheet registering cylinder having a sheet registering mechanism, a sheet detecting mechanism and a sheet rejecting mechanism, operating means for the said mechanisms comprising a cam shaft journaled in the cylinder, means for driving the cam shaft continuously and in one direction with relation to the cylinder, and a separate cam carried by the shaft for operating each of the respective mechanisms.

10. A sheet registering cylinder according to claim 9, in which the cam shaft drive means is arranged to rotate the cam shaft once with relation to the cylinder during each rotation of the latter.

11. A sheet registering cylinder according to claim 10, in which the cam shaft drive means comprises sun and planet gearing with one-toone gear ratio.

12. In a sheet registering cylinder and in combination, a bendable front stop bar, a supporting shaft for said bar, a set of arms attached to the bar at intervals along its length and rotatably mounted on the shaft, a second set of arms also 8 spaced along the bar but fixed to the shaft and engaging the bar for forcing the same in one direction while permitting movement of the bar out of engagement, a set of springs engaging the bar at intervals along its length for forcing the same against the second set of arms, a bendably advjustable register bar positioned for engagement References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,231,914 Huck Feb. 18, 1941 2,286,032 Eckhard June 9, 1942 2,317,993 Harrold May 4, 1943 2,391,892 Garassino Jan, 1, 1946 

